Tag: Happy

Benjamin p. Hardy wrote about taking a cold shower in one of his articles and its benefits. Without much delay, my brother and I decided to take cold showers for the rest of our life. It seemed overwhelming then cause neither of has tested chilled water during the winters.

This simple decision marked a pivotal point in my life.

I always used to think twice before attempting to do an action. With this simple change, I realised I get the courage to do an action without much hesitation.

Apart from creating a shift in mindset, I also observed other benefits. Getting rid of the irritating throat mucus and a blocked nose was one the great achievements of this challenge.

Do I still think to hesitate to take a cold shower? – Yes, I do!

But, that helps me build a mental attitude of taking that extra step needed to make the difference. I am much calm and composed as opposed to the worry wart I used to be.

I started to get up early, which was a practice I wanted to develop for a while. I ensured I practised the keyboard no matter how tired or sleepy I was. I stopped procrastinating tasks I usually get stuck with for a long time. And I can count many such situations I have taken that extra step and won.

I experienced a significant shift in my attitude. I made it a point to get into the swimming no matter how cold it got. Each time I got into the pool, I was able to complete three laps at one time. Today I was amazed at the laps I could do at one time. I was able to first five laps in one go, the next in another go and then I decided just to keep on going for the next 15 laps. To my surprise, I was able to pull it off. It was an achievement but the time in which I did the 25 laps were under 30 minutes which otherwise took me close to an hour.

I am glad I made that decision along with my brother. It has been eight months already into this habit. And I am determined to keep going no matter what.

Winter is coming! Let’s see how many days more can I sustain it.

Now the question is – Are you are ready to take the Cold Shower Challenge?

I open a door which is at the highest level. I enter the room as always with a smile, appreciating the beauty of life. There were a variety of soft bright colours all around the room. It feels like you were in an animated movie but everything is real. I sat there gazing at the colours. I could feel the soft breeze and the freshness of the grass in the room. I could smell the fragrance of Rose. I had nothing in the mind. I was only enjoying the beauty.

“The shirt you are wearing in this photo makes you look like a gay.” said a voice from another room.

I found myself opening another door. This door was many levels below I the room I enjoyed spending time. It seemed like it had bright colours. But I was fooled. I got sucked into the room and the door behind closed. I had no option to go back, so I went further into the room. This room had mud all over. My shoes were now muddy. The thought of cleaning it lingered in my mind. It started raining. I regretted about not carrying my umbrella. My worst fears kept coming alive one by one. Due to the rain, I had a running nose. My mobile and wallet were in my pocket and had no means of protecting them. By now they were thoroughly wet.

I took a moment to ask myself a question.

Am I creating this situation for myself?

The moment I asked this question, I realised, the power to turn things around and what I can create was in my control.

I ran towards a different door. As soon as I entered, I soon realised the room had many clones of me. Each of them had an opinion about the situation.

One with an orange robe said, “The voice from another door might be jealous; calm down. That voice does not know the impact of those words. You are the mature one”.

One with a beard, who was eating a burger said, “How could she say like that to you?”.

This question made me angry and sad at the same time. I realised I hate criticism.

The one in semi formals said, “There are better ways to express criticism”.

The one in the formals said, “Not all of them are like you”.

One with an orange robe spoke again, “It has nothing to do with who you are. Just ignore it”.

Another one who looked exactly like me said: “Maybe it’s sarcasm. Just smile and let it go”.

I smiled. The clones started disappearing. Without the clones, the room became smaller. I knew I had to open a door and enter into it. I did just that, and finally, I was back into the room I loved.

I was back into the bright colours and the feeling of warmth. Back to that awesome feeling of grass beneath me and fragrance of Rose. The door of the from where the voice came from was still around visible. It was slowly vanishing into the bright colours. It was faintly visible as if it could just come back anytime.

I thought to myself, “Why isn’t it vanishing?”.

Listen to music I said. I put on a soothing song by Santana. It is called Europa. I started grooving to the guitar. This song is just beautiful. I started floating up in the bright room. It felt like I was in a void floating around. The door from which the voice came from was not becoming fainter. It started to disappear. I continued to enjoy the music. I was back to my happy state without the worry of the voice.

All my life I have been worried about many aspects of my life and that has probably caused a steady hair fall.

We can find many friends who have always advised us not to worry. The fact is neither they nor us know how to stop worrying. It’s not a like a switch where you can switch Off the worry Button. Of course there those who have mastered it but there a lot many who think they have mastery over it. I being one if them.

This book has been a pivotal point in my life, which not bring the hair I lost or the lines on my forehead. But from now on I can confidently express myself and be carefree. Dale Carnegie has done a Fabulous job in explaining how not to worry and has illustrated many methods, out of which we can adopt few.

While reading this book, you might feel this is common sense, but it’s not as easy to apply as it may seem. For anyone who is thinking to read this book, please hand in there till the last page of the book.

Who should read this book? If you think you are a person who victimises himself or herself and constantly dwells over the last or is obsessed with some situation that you have no control over. How to stop worrying and start living is a book for you.

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living has changed my life and will go into the section of my favourite reads.